S1 is the right formula for Wyevale East

Wyevale East Nurseries in Swanley, Kent, have taken delivery of their second S1 sit-on 2 wheel drive electric vehicle from Electric Powered Solutions.

Nursery Director, Richard McKenna, first saw the vehicle at the Four Oaks trade show in 2010 and immediately recognised its potential for moving stock around their 10 acre site. They had a demonstrator on trial for a week and the decision was made to buy one.

A year later they have bought their second one. Wyevale East, part of the Wyevale Nurseries Group, is a trade-only cash and carry outlet serving landscapers, landscape architects and horticultural professional throughout the UK.

“We were using push trolleys and fork-lifts to do the picking of customer orders,” says Richard, ” with the limitations of staff having to push trolleys around, or having to have trained people on the two fork-lifts, lifting orders can be time consuming .

Given a couple of hours safety training any member of staff can use one of these S1 machines. It pulls a lot and speeds up the process of lifting customer orders for despatch.

The S1 is incredibly versatile, it’s easy to operate and comfortable to drive, and the battery can last up to a week on a charge.” Depending on the motor size the buggy can load up to 500kg and tow a trailer carrying up to 1,000kg.

One of the key features of course is that it is silent in operation, although Richard points out they have to use the horn to warn people they are coming through the aisles of plants.

With the large quantities of stock to move around and 16 staff on hand, often queuing up to use one, Wyevale East are considering adding more S1’s to their fleet.